uSwitch Mobiles

Samsung Galaxy Gear: Just 50,000 sold

Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch has shifted a paltry 50,000 units globally since its launch in late September, reports suggest.

The shockingly low figures come after the device received a critical mauling for its chunky design and clunky interface.

That number has been revealed by Business Korea, which says it garnered from “industry sources”. The figure will be a worry for Samsung, which spent heavily to promote the smartwatch alongside its flagship Galaxy Note 3 smartphone.

Interestingly, Samsung’s Korea-only Galaxy Round, the world’s first flexible smartphone, has also been struggling, with just 10,000 sold in one month.

It’s believed that Samsung never expected the phone to sell, instead using it as a public test product and to gain the kudos of being the first to market with such a device.

Samsung is expected to release new versions of both devices in 2014. However, competition is likely to be extremely stiff, with Apple’s iWatch due to land at the end of the year and LG’s G Flex phone also set for a global rollout.

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